Our back-breaking and
butt-numbing road journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City stretched for
more than a week. We have earned more than 1,700 kilometer points, cruising
along the bumpy Highway One, before deciding to take a plane from Nha Trang
resort city to Ho Chi Minh City (some 450 kilometers more).

Click on
the photo to see the Big Picture.

April
14 -From Hanoi, our first stop was Vinh City, a grueling six-hour drive.
We stayed overnight at a three-star hotel (the best in the city according
to our guide). smelly, moldy and rusty but livable. The next day, we visited
the birthplace of the late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh also known
as "Uncle Ho" or "Bac Ho". It was a humble hut made from grass, bamboo
and wood, very near the ricefields. a true reflection of the man's simple
life. paying tribute was a young Vietnamese girl, who was not even born
when the war ended. she adores "Uncle Ho" but she also loves MTV and Madonna's
"American Pie." Indeed, the times they are a-changin'.

April 15 - Another
six-hour drive along "Chocolate Road", a term coined by our guide because
of the terrible brown red muddy road. We are on our way to 'Xuan
Son' village, the start of the fabled Ho Chi Minh Trail, a vital route
the North Vietnamese fighters used to transport food and arms. This
sleepy village of rice paddies and winding river sandwiched by strategic
hills got its nickname among Vietnamese as "the village that swallowed
planes." Eight U.S. planes were shot down here during the Vietnam War.

April
16 - We continued our trek to 'Khe Sanh', where some of the heaviest
fighting ensued during the war. The former U.S. military air base called
'Tacon' was located here, near the Laotian border. We spoke, through an
interpreter, to two ethnic minority fighters who narrated their war stories
and patriotism. They spoke highly of a female minority woman whose sacrifice
and deeds were good Hollywood material. She was known only as "Ba Da" or
'Mother Stone' in English. At the height of the war, she walked through
thick forest and ate ants to survive and to get information for the North
Vietnamese forces. She was caught by the 'enemy' and tortured but she never
gave in nor admitted her involvement in the uprising. She also helped clear
landmines along the path of North Vietnamese soldiers. Her exploits were
indeed admirable. No modern weapon could defeat a determined nationalist
struggle for freedom.

April 16-17 - Next
stop was Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam, where we spent a night. Our
timing was good as the city was celebrating "Festival Hue 2000", a week
long celebration showcasing its rich cultural heritage. To cap our night,
we covered a fashion show by a local designer highlighting a modern look
at the "ao dai", the Vietnamese women's national dress. Ao dai is a graceful
and elegant looking dress worn over a thin silk pajama-like pants. Its
is almost see-thru, aptly described by foreigners as "it covers everything
but hides nothing." Hey, don't get me wrong as it still leaves something
to your imagination.

April
17 - Breakfast of 'pho' then we hit the road as rain poured. We ascended
the winding and picturesque "Hai Van pass", the mountainous terrain dividing
Hue and Danang. As we carefully inched our way to the cloud-covered peak,
I was listening to a compilation of 70's music. John Lennon was imagining
there's no heaven, but we were just passing through it at the very moment,
and people in Vietnam are now living in peace. Visibility was only
about 6 meters. As we started decending, the sky started clearing too.
Chicago's 'Colour My World' followed. It was glorious, like two worlds
divided by a line. The weather changed in an instant. Music was still playing.
It's a wild world according to Cat Stevens. a bit surreal.

April 17-18 - We
reached Danang and stayed at Riverside Hotel. a "no-star" hotel charging
a whooping $80 a night. Talking about highway robbery! That is after a
discount they say...sure. the next day, I went to Danang's famous China
Beach, not to swim or surf but to work of course. Nice golden brown sand,
great waves and some beautiful creatures.

April
18-19 - After Danang was a five-hour drive to "My Lai". The infamous
My Lai massacre transpired on march 16,1968, when rampaging U.S. soldiers
opened fire to more than 500 unarmed villagers, mostly women and children
in this remote hamlet in Quang Ngai province in central Vietnam. We met
two elderly women who survived the brutal attack by hiding beneath dead
bodies of relatives. They narrated their stories as tears flowed from their
eyes. They said that they will never get tired repeating their stories
if it will help people learn what happened on that fateful day.

April 19-20 - Another
bloody 9-hour drive to the coffe-producing region of "Buon Ma Thuot" (sounds
like 'doon umutot') followed. It was a pain in the ass literally and a
good excuse to release some 'gas' or 'utot' after the long drive. Scenes
of rolling hills and sturdy tribespeople in their colourful handwoven attires
helped ease the pain a bit. Buon Ma Thuot is a city in the central highland
province of Daclac. It used to be a rich minefield...landmines of course.
Up to now, at least one person gets killed by exploding ordinance left
behind after the conflict. What is remarkable is this barren field was
transformed into Vietnam's biggest coffee producing region. Vietnam now
is the world's biggest producer of robusta bean, the coffee bean used in
your instant coffee. So next time you sip your Nescafe, think of Vietnam.
Now for the funny part: When we interviewed the biggest coffee plantation
director, tea was served :-)

April
20-21 - Six-hour drive to Nha Trang. We reached the hotel just in time
for bed. It was the best hotel we had stayed during the week-long drive.
A recently built four-star hotel by the beach. Nha Trang beaches were popular
rest and recreation spots among G.I.'s during the war. That was what we
did here. Relax a bit and update our notes. My colleague decided that we
had enough mileage and we booked a flight to Ho Chi Minh City the next
day. We thought that it would be smooth sailing after reaching the airport.
Of course not! The thrill continued. While on board a twin-propeller aircraft
to Ho Chi Minh City, as the engines started running (we thought)... the
pilot announced that only one engine was working. We were asked to disembark
and waited for another hour while an engineer fixed a faulty wiring....hehehe.
It was an uneasy flight from then on, aggravated by ringing mobile phones.
Hellooooo!

April 21 onwards - Reached
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, safely. The biggest and bustling
city renamed after "Uncle Ho" , is the country's financial capital. Money,
money, money. People here do not care as long as you have u.s. dollar.
Hey joe, one dollar only. Souvenir, one dollar. 'Cyclo' two dollars an
hour. We covered several stories here leading to the big day. Went to 'Ben
Tre' province to cover the 'long-haired army', an all women Vietnamese
fighting force, during the war. Been to 'Vung Tao' to shoot the Anzac Day,
a day of remembrance for Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought
during the war. Australian soldiers were among several countries who sent
combat troops during the Vietnam War. Went to 'Long Thanh' to document
Amerasian children left behind after the conflict. A social organization
estimates that there are still some 10,000 Amerasians living in Vietnam.
Then U.S. Senator John Mccain landed again, obviously still dazed 25 years
after the war. Mccain insisted that he came to heal the wounds of the past
but went on a rampage by saying "the wrong side won the war".

Tomorrow is April 30,
the 25th anniversary of the 'Fall of Saigon' and the reunification of the
country. Hopefully, it will be peaceful.